Free Agency In The NHL

Question: Which notable sniper took a noticeable pay cut to remain a San Jose Shark?

(You can find the answer at the end of the article.)

Free agency usually marks a period of excitement in the National Hockey League (NHL) off-season. After all, teams make the effort to elevate their roster in the hope of hoisting Lord Stanley's hardware the ensuing spring. Only the decisions are increasingly being made as a result of anything but championship rings.

who bit the bullet?

Free agency means different things to different teams. To the New York Rangers, it has been a "promise" of better things to come, only to turn out to be a great source of disappointment. Now it seems that the Tom Hicks-backed Dallas Stars are eager to join the Rangers.

Last year, the organization acquired Pierre Turgeon, Donald Audette and Valery Kamensky. None of the three managed to deliver the goods. You would assume that Dallas would have learned their lesson. But "assumptions" are the mother of all foul ups because this time around, Dallas opened up its coffers and signed — within the first four days of free agency — Bill Guerin, Scott Young and Philippe Boucher for a combined $62 million.

who dodged the bullet?

So it was no surprise to see many Canadian franchises sit idle, given the worth of the "all-petty" Canadian dollar. The Toronto Maple Leafs, eager for that big defenseman, did not make any real efforts to acquire one. But few cared about the blue-line for it was to the netminder position that all eyes were glued. When the dust settled, Curtis Joseph said goodbye to the blue Leafs and signed on to play for the Detroit Red Wings. At 35, Cujo wanted a Stanley Cup, and like Dominik Hasek before him, may just get his wish.

Conversely, this may explain why both Ron Francis and Bret Hedican of the Carolina Hurricanes decided to stay put without even testing the free agency market. After a great run to the Stanley Cup Finals, they remained loyal to the Canes.

musical chairs

To others, this game of musical chairs suits them just fine: former Stars goalie Eddie "Officer, I will pay you $1 billion" Belfour moved to Toronto to replace Joseph. While Maple Leafs general manager and coach Pat Quinn has received considerable heat for how he handled the situation, fact of the matter is that Cujo wanted a four-year deal and at 35, it would be foolish to grant him such a deal. Joseph may very well prove us wrong, and because I want him to win a Cup (so long as it is not in a Maple Leafs uniform), I wish him the best.

But the business side of free agency dictates otherwise. After all, the entire league can be shut down in September 2004. At that point, teams will probably not want to be locked into too many long-term deals.